There's a ghost in my lungs (and it sighs in my sleep)
by melancholicmermaid
Summary: Ghost!Enzo x Caroline. Post 5x20. "He hadn't had a lot of time to learn the tricks of the trade what with the Other Side crumbling apart and causing the traits of phantomhood to shift and change with ruthless haste."


Caroline bustled around in the kitchen preparing a cup of tea. She needed something more vital but she was out of blood bags and alcohol wasn't an option since she was already tipsy. Better not get too inebriated when the whole world was on the verge of collapse.

Enzo leaned against the marble countertop and watched her move about looking absent-minded. So yes, he had followed the girl with the sad eyes to her house. What of it?

He grimaced as she unceremoniously dumped a tea-bag into a cup of hot water and lifted it to her lips.

"Should have let it steep for a while, blondie," he said.

She scowled as soon as the liquid flew down her tongue and she firmly set the cup away.

"Told you." Not that she could hear him.

Tea forgotten she made her way up the stairs and into her room. He debated for a while whether entering her room without permission would be appropriate but what did he have to lose really? He was already dead.

Her door was open and he saw her curled up on the white banquette against her window staring at the lace curtains. He joined her, his one leg outstretched, barely missing coming in contact with her feet. He wondered what she was thinking of as she traced the intricate designs on the fabric with her finger. He felt guilty for burning the shed. She had stood there so long, watching it wither away till it was nothing but ash and smoke.

Suddenly she looked up and stared straight into his eyes, and he thought for a mad moment she could see him, but she looked away wearing the same quizzical look on her face she had in the morning, as if she could sense someone's presence.

Caroline stepped off the banquette and made her way across the room. She could swear she felt someone in the room. Was she going crazy? Were all the lonely nights finally getting to her head? She picked up her phone and called her mom hoping she would be arriving tonight. She hadn't seen her mother since the traveler fiasco. It seemed Mystic Falls needed a sheriff more than she needed a mother. She threw her phone on her bed after her call went unanswered.

Enzo stared at the mood board over her board. He smiled at the cut-out photos of Eiffel Tower, Colosseum and a.. cat?

The sunshine haired girl did dream then.

"Why don't you leave this town, Caroline Forbes?" he wondered out loud. The door being shut with a loud bang was his answer. He watched curiously as she rested against the door her head thrown back. She moved slowly, lifting her hair in her hand and fashioning it on a messy bun above her head. Enzo felt guilt surge through his dead and empty veins as he stood up and walked closer towards her. He had such a clear view of her pale neck and the glimpse of cleavage her rose colored top afforded him. She reminded him of a time before cages and pain and waiting. She was all softness and big eyes and a razor sharp tongue and he felt he could lose his grief inside her.

Too bad it would never happen now.

She opened her wardrobe picking out slips of colorful clothes. He should probably leave now. The door was still locked though. Would he pass through it if he tried? He hadn't had a lot of time to learn the tricks of the trade what with the Other Side crumbling apart and causing the traits of phantomhood to shift and change with ruthless haste. Before he could test his abilities though the wind blew away the pale colorless curtain and moonlight spilled inside the room.

Distracted he drifted towards her, his eyes on the nape of her neck, which was illuminated under the light. He was so close now he could smell her hyacinth scent. A goodbye then, he thought bitterly, his hands coming to linger on her shoulders, yearning to touch her skin. He ducked his head and planted a kiss on the edge of the thin strap of her dress. He was expecting air, vacuum, disappointment, not the smooth, soft feel of her body.

She shrieked almost immediately and whipped her head around, staring at the blank space where he stood. "Oh God, am I going insane?"

"They do say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

"Enzo!?" her voice rose to decibels probably too high for human ears.

"You can hear me?" he asked hopefully. He found his heart soar at the thought of becoming flesh and body again. He had missed being undead.

"Yes, I can hear you! What the hell do you think you are doing in my room?" she fixed him a glare so icy if he weren't already dead, he'd surely be done for.

"You looked upset that Stefan didn't wait, so I got into the car with you."

"You have been stalking me from the cabin! What was your plan? You thought your freaky spectral self would cheer me up?"

"Actually I was hoping you could cheer me up. I mean, your best friend did kill me."

"You are delusional if you think I am gonna entertain you."

"You are doing it already, gorgeous." He settled down on her bed comfortably.

"I want you to go play poltergeist somewhere else, okay?"

"I can't leave now. This town is breaking down. It's not safe outside. For the dead or the undead. Surely you know that."

Caroline sighed and turned around helplessly trying to locate where he his voice was coming from so she wasn't left standing and talking to thin air.

"Okay, you can live here." It was more for her benefit than his really. Even a haunted house is better than an empty one. "Just until things settle down," she added sternly.

"Brilliant. Do you think a ghost can possibly drink some whiskey?" He twirled the bottle he had pulled from under her pillow around his hands. His emotions regarding it must have been strong, he thought wryly. That or The Other Side just had another mini earthquake.

"Wait. Are you on my bed? You creep! " She snapped in anger, throwing a lamp in his direction and trying not to go crazy at having witnessed her whiskey floating around in the air appearing to do a little dance.

"Guess I deserved that."

"When I come back I want you out of my bed. Go slither around in the guest room." She picked her clothes and made her way in the bathroom for a shower. "And don't even dream of gliding through these walls!"

She came out twenty minutes later in her sleep shorts and tank top, water dripping from her hair. Enzo was glad he decided to wait in her room a little longer.

"Women's sleepwear has certainly improved," he commented, eyes sliding down her ensemble.

"I have had a long and tiresome day so is it really too much to hope for some quiet and peace and not be accosted by the vengeful spirit of a lecherous old vampire!?" She screamed throwing her hair dryer at him.

"Nice style but poor aim. You were off by about three feet."

"If you don't shut the sass you'll have to go find someone else to haunt."

"But I quite like you."

She huffed but ignored him and instead settled down on her bed,switching on the TV.

"And I am not that old."

"Yeah, you are only like a few hundred years old."

"Precisely."

Caroline simply shook her head at his lame retort and directed her concentration towards more important things like the latest episode of The Mindy Project.

"Do we have to watch this really?"

"Hey Enzo, I think your newfound power to be heard has disappeared once again."

"Very funny."

"Caroline."

"Caroline?"

He tried to stir her away from the screen but his hand simply passed through her. Like that wasn't unsettling at all. But there was a small smile dancing on the edge of her lips so he thought this might not be the worst way to spend his unearthly life.

* * *

Author's note: A tiny drabble I had to write after the last episode because the lesser the chances of a ship becoming canon the more I apparently ship it. There will be a Part 2 because I have a deep need for them to tear each other's clothes off.


End file.
